BJP firm on apology from Shinde

New Delhi, Feb 19, 2013, DHNS 1:47 IST

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s attempt to buy peace with agitated BJP on his saffron terror remark is stuck over the opposition party’s insistence that the Leader of Lok Sabha should explicitly use the word “regret” when issuing clarification in the Budget Session beginning from Thursday.

Recently, Shinde had sent across a draft of a statement to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj to show his willingness for burying sharp differences over his comments at the Congress meet at Jaipur early last month that the BJP and RSS were organising terror camps.

The observation had led to an uproar and the BJP started public protests demanding that Shinde be sacked and that he should tender a public apology.

Party sources said that in the draft sent to Sushma which was discussed among the top brass of the BJP leadership, he tried to apologise indirectly which is not acceptable to the opposition.

The BJP has sent back draft to Shinde suggesting that he should use the word “regret” for making statement which was derogatory not only to the party but to the Hindus and the nation as a whole, party sources said.

The comment was picked by Pakistan based most wanted Hafiz Saeed to ridicule the country. But, Shinde is yet to reply to the BJP.

He had told reporters in the past that he and the Congress party always believed that terrorism has no colour. This has prompted the BJP to upped its ante against Shinde resolving to target him during the Budget Session.

Prior to that, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that party chief Rajnath Singh will lead a protest march on Wednesday, expected to start from Jantar Mantar and try to reach Shinde’s residence. “We will raise the issue in parliament. Shinde is the Leader of Lok Sabha, does he think we are terrorists?” Prasad said after the parliamentary party meeting.

“Our demand is very emphatic. He has to apologise,” he added. Shinde is also in a fix since he cannot give a complete clean chit, especially to Sangh Parivar as their associates are under the scanner of National Investigation Agency (NIA). Apart from arresting associates who were linked to the RSS. The NIA is also looking into suspected role of senior Sangh functionary Indresh Kumar in terror activities. The RSS national executive member’s name figures in the chargesheet filed in Ajmer blast case but he was not made an accused.

The BJP said it will take a call on to boycott Shinde if he fails to give either a retraction or apology on his “Hindu terror” remark which was also made previously by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Congress leader Digvijay Singh.